10 July 2007

(Black Forest Cherry Cake) My aunt/godmother came in from Canada, and she's an excellent baker, so my mom asked me to make something to show off. I didn't want to repeat, so I made the classic Black Forest cake, based on the Chocolate Rhapsody recipe of Flo Braker (in The Simple Art of Perfect Baking). As you can see, I went all-out with the adornments on this one. I would have made chocolate cigarettes and a how-to but I was too stressed out! Plus, the photo shoot for this one left a lot to be desired. But, I love its octagonal configuration and its unashamed chocolateness. That's chocolate mousse in between two layers of chocolate butter cake with chocolate glaze and chocolate garnishes. Thank God for whipped cream (and cherry syrup and chopped cherries). Even if the cake is ubiquitous in shops, you get a feeling you're eating something new.It was the biggest mess I've ever made in the kitchen. That mousse would not stay firm for more than a few minutes (the climate, y'know... next time: gelatin?), and the top layer actually broke into three while I was flipping it because I'm hard-headed and I wanted to use a chocolate butter cake whose time had come instead of a reasonable genoise/ sponge (next time: genoise). I cemented it together with extra chocolate mousse. I hope I hid it well. It says "Gateau Schwarzwälder" on top for no good reason except to misguidedly mash two languages together (next time: er, nothing). The stars on top have crazy bloom on them, so they're all different colors (next time: stick to cherries?).

(Black Forest Cherry Cake) My aunt/godmother came in from Canada, and she's an excellent baker, so my mom asked me to make something to show off. I didn't want to repeat, so I made the classic Black Forest cake, based on the Chocolate Rhapsody recipe of Flo Braker (in The Simple Art of Perfect Baking). As you can see, I went all-out with the adornments on this one. I would have made chocolate cigarettes and a how-to but I was too stressed out! Plus, the photo shoot for this one left a lot to be desired. But, I love its octagonal configuration and its unashamed chocolateness. That's chocolate mousse in between two layers of chocolate butter cake with chocolate glaze and chocolate garnishes. Thank God for whipped cream (and cherry syrup and chopped cherries). Even if the cake is ubiquitous in shops, you get a feeling you're eating something new.It was the biggest mess I've ever made in the kitchen. That mousse would not stay firm for more than a few minutes (the climate, y'know... next time: gelatin?), and the top layer actually broke into three while I was flipping it because I'm hard-headed and I wanted to use a chocolate butter cake whose time had come instead of a reasonable genoise/ sponge (next time: genoise). I cemented it together with extra chocolate mousse. I hope I hid it well. It says "Gateau Schwarzwälder" on top for no good reason except to misguidedly mash two languages together (next time: er, nothing). The stars on top have crazy bloom on them, so they're all different colors (next time: stick to cherries?).